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Browse sessions by day: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday 

Essentials - Ever ask yourself, "How'd they do that?" when you see a great nonprofit website, fundraising appeal or online campaign? Then, the sessions tagged "essentials" are right for you. You'll get a wealth of knowledge ranging from Convio product how-tos and online best practices to real-life examples for maximizing the online channel for fundraising, marketing and advocacy results.

Advanced - Are you pushing the envelope when it comes to your Convio product use and eager for more? If you dream about custom apps, S-tags and website conversion, then the "advanced" sessions are for you. You will get fresh perspectives on how organizations are taking their programs to the next level.

Global - Interested in discussing the hottest trends and the latest issues affecting the nonprofit sector? Join the session tagged "global" to hear about a wide range of topics presented by industry experts and leading technologists.

Monday, November 16

3-hour, hands-on Workshops

APIs for Nerds… er… Advanced Users
Time:
3:00-6:00 pm
Convio Speakers: Dave Hart - Chief Technology Officer;
Bruce Keilin - Manager and Principal Consultant, Technical Design Services 
Level: Advanced

Join in the fun at this highly technical workshop where you will take a deep dive into the world of Convio APIs. Work on some complex real world examples with your fellow coders from other organizations and Convio. Get a sneak peek into the technical future of Convio APIs.  Working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript is essential, prior experience using APIs from Convio, Facebook, Google or Twitter is strongly recommended. Participants will learn:

  • How to design and implement a single sign-on between Convio and a separately hosted website.
  • How to leverage Convio APIs from Convio’s CMS or from other separately hosted web sites using server-side proxies and/or cross-domain javascript libraries.
  • Best practices around performance, error handling and dealing with edge cases when using the APIs.

S.T.A.R. Session
Time:
3:00-6:00 pm
Convio Speakers: Blake Groves - Principal Consultant
Level: Global

This session will give you the Strategy, Tactics, Analysis, and Review of successful strategies for online fundraising and marketing. This half-day course does not require your computer, but does require some brain power to answer some of the ‘why questions’ behind the what and how of using your Convio product solution.

*Attendees who complete the STAR Workshop will receive three points of CFRE credit.

Donor Database of Record: What Does That Really Mean?
Time:
3:00-4:30 pm
Convio Speaker: Mark Fisette - Sr. Solutions Engineer 
Level: Essentials

This session is for anyone using Convio Common Ground that is considering Convio Online Marketing or for anyone using Convio Online Marketing that is re-evaluating their “donor database”.

What does it really mean when your donor database is referred to as the “database of record”?  Understand how Convio Common Ground presents you with a 360° view of all interactions with your constituent base, online and offline.  With this knowledge, recognize the opportunity to increase the ability of your organization to drive more of your donations directly to your nonprofit’s mission.

Social Media Charades
Time:
3:00-6:00 pm
Guest Speakers: Alan Graham - President - Mobile Loaves & Fishes; David Neff - Director of Web, Film and Interactive - American Cancer Society; Carie Lewis - Director of Emerging Media - Humane Society of the US; Adam Steinberg - Marketing Coordinator - ThePort; Matthew Mahan - Business Development & Nonprofit Relations Director - Causes; Kenneth Cho - Co-founder - Social Agency
Convio Speakers: Jordan Viator - Interactive Communications Manager; James Young - Senior Product Strategy Manager
Level: Global

Come work hand in hand with some of the leading nonprofit experts who are running the most successful social media campaigns online today and walk away with a holistic understanding of how social media can positively impact your nonprofit organization. Attendees will have the opportunity to:

  • Learn how to use social media to raise awareness, engagement and support of their mission
  • Work on a hands-on social media strategy and execution campaigns with a group of their peers and coaching from nonprofit social media practitioners
  • Walk away with a guide that will help you form a social media strategy for your nonprofit after the conference ends

Moving the Needle: How to Increase Event Fundraising
Time:
3:00-6:00 pm
Guest Speakers: Brenda Miele - Director, IT Projects and Christy VanHeugten - Project Manager - Event 360
Convio Speakers: Noel Beebe - Interactive Consultant
Level: Global

This workshop will help you understand and measure fundraising event performance, and develop a plan to achieve higher levels of engagement, registration, and fundraising for your next event.

Raise 4X/Reach 4X
Time:
3:00-6:00 pm
Guest Speakers: Jenny Lee - Creative Director - Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation;
Danielle Johnson Vermenton - Director of Individual Giving - Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta
Convio Speakers: Adam Lemmon - Senior Interactive Specialist; Jennifer Darrouzet - Solutions Marketing Manager
Level: Global

Did you know that if you compare a multi-part email campaign series to a single email appeal, you’ll see an average of four times the fundraising? And that your message can reach four times the inboxes, through a structured list growth campaign? Combine these effects and you’re onto real money,  to the tune of an average $13.96 in online revenue per email address, per year.  But you may need a little help putting your online communication ideas in motion.  Participate in this workshop and head home with mock-ups of a multi-part fundraising campaign AND a viral list growth campaign. We’ll introduce you to nonprofit marketers who have run successful campaigns on the software you’ve licensed, and teach you how to use the same best practices to achieve results fast. You’ll want to bring your creative brain, and at least one specific story of your organization’s impact within your community. 

*Attendees who complete the Raise 4X/Reach 4x Workshop will receive 3 points of CFRE credit. 

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Tuesday, November 17

Novel Engagement Campaigning
Time:
10:15-11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Susan Neumann - Director of Engagement, Membership Department - National Trust for Historic Preservation; Abby Sandlin - Senior Consultant - Charity Dynamics
Convio Speakers: Matthew Mielcarek - Principal Consultant
Level: Advanced

A trove of interaction data exists about each and every one of your online constituents. How are you putting this engagement data to work? This session will help you to identify and target engaged non-donors and will cover strategies for activating disengaged online and lapsed donors.

No really, Show Me the Money! Merchandised Giving
Time:
10:15-11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Alisa Aydin - Director of Interactive Marketing - UNICEF
Convio Speakers: Molly Brooksbank - Senior Interactive Consultant
Level: Global

If your mission was an object, what would it be? Virtual stores and tangible asks help donors connect with your mission through the power of symbols. If you’ve seen campaigns to donate backpacks for kids, livestock for families, or trees for a forest and wondered, “How could my nonprofit do this?” then this session is for you. Learn how organizations are using symbolic offers to attract and build rapport with donors. Explore the opportunities and challenges associated with opening a virtual store: Should the gift be designated? What makes a good honor gift? And how can I get started? Learning objectives: 

  • Brainstorm your own virtual gifts 
  • Think through questions every organization needs to answer to get started 
  • Understand how to promote merchandised giving opportunities 

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit.

There’s an App for That! Making your Donor Database “Do More” than Before
Time:
10:15-11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Judi Sohn - Vice President of Operations - C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition; Jerry Huskins - EVP Corporate Development - Astadia, Inc. 
Convio Speakers: Tompkin Spann - Senior Market Strategist
Level: Global

Because Common Ground was built on the Force.com platform, clients can take advantage of nearly 1,000 add-on applications available through the AppExchange.  There you’ll find everything from nonprofit specific apps, to apps that link Facebook and Twitter with Common Ground, and loads of apps for managing your back-office operations like expense tracking, project management and much more.  Attend this session to hear how nonprofits are using apps from the AppExchange to manage their mission work and integrate multiple pieces of their organization together.

The Anatomy of a Successful Online Advocacy Campaign
Time:
10:15-11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Joel Bartlett - Assistant Director of Marketing - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; Barry Jackson - Onine Advocacy Manager - AARP; Kevin Reid - Vice President - Amplify
Convio Speakers: Noah Cooper - Senior Consultant, Technical Design Services
Level: Essentials 

The definition of success for advocacy is results.  This means more than high participation numbers and viral activity – it means actually changing the policies of the legislative body, corporation, or other decision maker that you are targeting.  There are several best practices you should incorporate into your online advocacy efforts to ensure that your constituents’ voices are being heard, and that your message is as effective as possible.  Hear from some dynamic speakers about how their efforts not only generated a lot of activity, but actually resulted in real-world policy change.

Issues and Insight on Privacy Laws and the impact on philanthropy
Time:
10:15-11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Deborah Edward, Ph.D -  The University of Texas at Austin, RGK Center for Philanthropy & Community Service; Geoff Peters - President & CEO - CDR Fundraising Group; Paul Clolery - Editor-in-Chief - The Nonprofit Times
Convio Speakers: Tad Druart - Director of Corporate Communications
Level: Global

The threat of new regulations involving Internet privacy is prompting Web advertisers to give consumers more control over how their private information is collected and used online. What impact will this have on philanthropy and donor data.

Convio 2010 Product Roadmap
Time:
1:00-2:15 pm or 4:30-5:45 pm
Convio Speakers:
John Stockton - Director of Product Management;
Gary Allison - Vice President of Engineering; Tom Krackeler - Vice President of Common Ground
Level: Global

Share your feedback on the themes and major headline developments planned for Convio Online Marketing and Common Ground.

Think There’s Nothing New in Donor Databases? Come Check Out Common Ground
Time:
1:00-2:15 pm or 4:30-5:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Keith Heller - Principal - Heller Consulting
Convio Speakers: Kate Harwood, Implementation Manager 
Level: Essentials

See how Common Ground has replaced donor database products like the Raiser’s Edge, eTapestry, PledgeMaker, DonorPerfect and more and is meeting both the current and future fundraising needs of nonprofits.  Common Ground is like nothing else out there and more and more organizations are seeing results and enjoying the tight integration with Convio’s Online Marketing products. 

Go Mobile! Put Your Website into your Constituents’ Hands Using Convio CMS
Time:
1:00-2:15 pm
Convio Speakers: Kevin Suer - Senior Product Manager;
Bruce Keilin - Manager and Principal Consultant, Technical Design Services 
Level: Global

Do your constituents use iPhones and Blackberries?  If they do, you need to attend this session to learn about the mobile strategies, best practices, and implementation techniques necessary to create an engaging, mobile-friendly experience.  In this session, we will examine the current state-of-the-art for mobile websites, and highlight examples of the good and the bad.  We will empower you with the knowledge and tools necessary to make your site an effective communication channel in an increasingly mobile world.

Using your Users: Enhancing Your Website through Audience Analysis
Time:
1:00-2:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Bethany Bauman - Associate Director, eCRM - American Diabetes Association
Convio Speakers: Lacey Kruger - Senior Information Architect 
Level: Advanced                     

This session will show how sophisticated organizations are tuning into their audiences’ personalities and needs to increase conversion of site visitors to subscribers, and to propel returning visitors to deepen their relationships.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the importance of learning about your site visitors and balancing their needs with your internal priorities 
  • Learn techniques for educating your organization about your site visitors and building consensus
  • See how a sophisticated organization (American Diabetes Association) was able to use constituent personas to develop audience-specific pathways and communications on their new website

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit.

Maximizing Event Fundraising
Time:
1:00-2:15 pm or 4:30-5:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Kerri Mink - Systems and Web Manager - American Brain Tumor Association; Mondy Lamb - Marketing Director - SPCA of Wake County; Jason Wood - Director of Internet Services - Salvation Army; Mark Becker - President & Founder - Cathexis Partners
Convio Speakers: Joey Martin - Lead Project Manager, Program Management Services
Level: Essentials

This session will cover the best practices you should consider when planning your TeamRaiser event. Learn how to keep participants engaged from one year to the next and encourage them to attain higher levels of fundraising. Learning Objectives:

  • How to engage last year's participants 
  • Inspire participants to raise money and reach more people 
  • Increase donations without increasing participants 
  • Effective follow up after your event
  • What to do during the off season

Advanced “Engagement Pathways”:  Moving beyond the Welcome Series
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Kacey McGowen - Associate Director - Internet, Interactive and Affinity Strategy and Development, Paralyzed Veterans of America; Marc Ruben - Vice President, eCampaigns - M+R Strategic Services
Convio Speakers: Brad Duff-Hudkins - Interactive Consultant
Level: Advanced

This session will discuss how to progress constituents/donors down cultivation or “engagement pathways” online.  Specific topics include:

  • Defining your audience segments and designing appropriate treatments for each
  • Identifying potential monthly and major donors
  • What should be done on your website to complement segmented emails
  • Implementing advocate to donor conversion programs

Going Beyond the Donate Button
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Todd Turner - Director of Web Ministries - Insight for Living; Michael Cervino - Vice President - Beaconfire Consulting; Nick Allen - Chief Strategy Officer - DonorDigital 
Convio Speakers: Vinay Bhagat - Founder & Chief Strategy Officer; Kate Millea - Interactive Consultant  
Level: Advanced

Extend the effectiveness of your online fundraising appeals by looking at factors beyond fundraising appeals themselves. Dive into topics including: 

  • Optimizing landing pages and donation forms
  • Customized Ask Strings
  • Videos & Multi Media that motivate giving

Help! I need somebody — The Latest on Structure/Staffing for Multichannel Success
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Julie Butcher - EVP Information Technology - National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Mondy Lamb – Marketing Director – SPCA of Wake County
Convio Speakers: Brian Hauf - Vice President, Strategic Services  
Level: Global                     

Your organization’s decision structure, internal staffing plan, outsourcing plan and management structure can directly impact your ability to succeed online. This session will explore the various ways that your nonprofit peers have been able to tackle this critical challenge.
Learning Outcomes:

  1. Learn how to organize your precious resources
  2. New ways to plan the priorities for these resources
  3. How to assign ownership and accountability for your staff
  4. How to acquire/develop the interactive skills required

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit.

Channel Integration 101: Online and Offline Work Better Together
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Abby Koenig - Assistant Director of Membership - Houston PBS; Tim O'Leary - Vice President - McPherson Associates
Convio Speakers: Kelsi Morrow - Senior Account Manager
Level: Essentials

More Donors, Lower Costs - Leveraging Channel Integration to Acquire and Reactivate Donors Online and offline to work better together.
Learn how to:

  • Convert web visitors to registrants
  • Build internal prospect lists
  • Maintain and expand the donor relationship

Import/Export: How to Effectively Move and Manage your Data
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Convio Speakers: Cynthia Balusek - Manager, Client Support; 
John Miller - Client Support Analyst 
Level: Essentials

In this session learn how to use Convio’s tools, create processes and follow best practices for moving data in and out of the Convio system.  This will include:

  • Overviews of the standard constituent import
  • Interest and group assignment
  • Standard constituent download
  • Transaction information download
  • Custom constituent import

The Healthy Housefile: Building and Cultivating Your List
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Christine Weinheimer - Director of Communications - Yellowstone Park Foundation
Convio Speakers: Patrick Hansen - Principal Consultant 
Level: Essentials                   

Is your housefile in good health?  This session covers the basics of effective email housefile building and nurturing, including: stewardship; viral offers; simple and effective welcome messages; segmentation planning, and constituent profiling. Attendees will learn: the baseline metrics for measuring housefile health, 2-3 tactics and related campaign concepts for building your housefile and 2-3 tactics and related activities for profiling/cultivating your housefile.     

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit. 

Essential Website Analytics
Time: 
 3:00 - 4:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Robin Steffek - VP of Interactive Technology - RedEngine Digital 
Convio Speakers: Andrew Magnuson - Interactive Consultant
Level: Essentials

Web analytics tools churn out an overwhelming amount of data, but where should you start, and what should you be paying attention to? In this session, we’ll introduce you to key metrics you should be taking a look at within your web analytics package.  More importantly, we’ll show you real-world examples of how to apply these metrics to ask the right questions and make meaningful decisions that impact specific strategic goals. You will leave with the knowledge to implement:

  • Strategies for defining Web site and/or campaign goals in order to get the most out of your analytics
  • Ten Web Analytics metrics you should care about and why
  • An understanding of how these metrics can be used in service of larger strategic goals that focus on results
     

Building Custom Applications with Convio Web Services
Time:
3:00-4:15 pm
Convio Speakers: Karl Goldstein - Principal Engineer; Kevin Suer - Sr. Product Manager 
Level: Advanced

An introduction to leveraging Convio Web Service for building custom data integration, reporting and visualization applications. Learning Objectives: 

  • Review the goal of Convio Web Services: full access to your online data
  • The differences between ReST and SOAP, particularly in the context of the Convio Open APIs and Convio Web Services 
  • Take a tour of the ins and outs of the Convio WSDL, including the wide range of data types and it makes accessible as well as two main categories of operations (Query and DataSync)
  • Get an introduction to the web services using the  Web Services Console
  • Learn about the typical development lifecycle for applications that leverage CWS: data mapping, using a SOAP client, implementing custom logic, logging, error handling, etc.

You will also see a sample application in action: a data reporting application for the Adobe AIR platform.   

Measuring and Optimizing Multi-Channel Marketing Efforts
Time:
4:30-5:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Jeff Regen - VP of Online Marketing - Defenders of Wildlife; Kevin Moran - Co-Founder & Principal - Integral
Convio Speakers: Vinay Bhagat - Founder & CSO
Level: Advanced

Many organizations engage in multi-channel marketing—few measure their efforts “scientifically.” How can deep analysis fuel our decisions about optimizing & coordinating channels? How does it set our course for best treatment of core audiences? How does it inform budget decisions? This session will be a lively discussion amongst practitioners about how we measure integrated marketing programs and the best practices we’ve arrived upon. Come ready to share.

Effective Homepage Design Slam
Time:
4:30-5:45 pm
Convio Speakers: Lacey Kruger - Senior Information Architect;
Don Roach - Lead Visual Designer 
Level: Essentials

You have just a few seconds to capture your users’ attention before they click away to another surfing-squirrel video on YouTube.  In this hands-on interactive session, you’ll evaluate the effectiveness of a sample website and walk away with a bucket full of ideas and tools that will transform your homepage into a user-focused, goal-driven, results-gettin’ machine.

Get Your Geek on with Convio APIs
Time:
4:30-5:45 pm
Convio Speakers: Dave Hart - Chief Technology Officer;
Bruce Keilin - Manager and Principal Consultant, Technical Design Services 
Level: Advanced

Learn what is (and isn’t) possible using Convio APIs to advance your organization’s mission. In this technical session we will dive into the detailed mechanics of using the APIs, including looking at real-world code examples. Wear your pocket protector and be ready to geek out. Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will understand what Convio features can be used via APIs and which ones can’t
  • Participants will learn what can be done to enable a single sign-on between Convio and a separately hosted website
  • Participants will learn how Convio APIs can be leveraged from Convio’s CMS or from other separately hosted web sites using server-side proxies and/or cross-domain JavaScript libraries
  • Participants will learn best practices around performance, error handling and dealing with edge cases when using the APIs

Join the Social Media Movement: Manage your Fundraising, Marketing and Branding
Time:
4:30-5:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Carie Lewis - Director of Emerging Media - Humane Society of the US;
Jeff Patrick - President & Founder - Common Knowledge
Convio Speakers: Jordan Viator - Interactive Communications Manager
Level: Global

Nonprofits have a great deal to gain from using social media effectively. This session will discuss the basics of incorporating social media into your fundraising and marketing mix as well as how to properly monitor your nonprofit brand online to deal with both “fans” and “detractors”. Attendees will learn: how many nonprofits are currently using social media tools effectively, the scoop on the most popular social media sites, considerations before setting up your social media accounts, how to make a social media plan and what tools make the most sense for your organization and how to track and analyze results. 

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Wednesday, November 18

Effective Homepage Design Slam
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am
Convio Speakers: Lacey Kruger - Senior Information Architect; Don Roach - Lead Visual Designer 
Level: Essentials

You have just a few seconds to capture your users’ attention before they click away to another surfing-squirrel video on YouTube.  In this hands-on interactive session, you’ll evaluate the effectiveness of a sample website and walk away with a bucket full of ideas and tools that will transform your homepage into a user-focused, goal-driven, results-gettin’ machine. 

Online and Offline Meet on Common Ground.  The Donor Database Integration Story
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am
Guest Speakers: Lindsi Gish - E-Communications Marketing Manager - Second Harvest Heartland
Convio Speakers: Rachel English - Program Manager
Level: Essentials

See how Convio is making imports and exports a thing of the past by tightly integrating Constituent360 with Common Ground.  Nonprofits using both tools together are saving time and gaining a competitive advantage by combining their online and offline campaigns to achieve better results.

Perez Hilton may not cover them, but Convio APIs are Hot!
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am
Guest Speakers: Chris Baggett - Senior Webmaster - Insight For Living;
Donna Wilkins - President - Charity Dynamics
Convio Speakers: James Young - Senior Product Strategy Manager;
Corey Pudhorodsky -
 Lead Consultant, Technical Design Services
Level: Global

It seems crazy that Perez, The Defamer and other A-List bloggers haven’t been mentioning all of the cool things that are being done with Convio APIs. Well, we want to rectify that by showing you just how hot the Convio APIs really are. This non-technical session will expose some of the craziest experiences built using our APIs, and give you an insight into the creative process behind the work. You’ll see real examples and have a chance to ask questions of the people who built them. Attendees will learn: 
What the APIs are best suited for, 

  • What is possible with the APIs, and
  • What kind of effort and expertise are needed to succeed.

TeamRaiser: Next Steps
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am or 12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Dario Mallerman - Manager, Online Marketing and Giving; and Nicole Aubry - Manager - Central Park Challenge both from YAI; Bethany Bauman - Associate Director - American Diabetes Association; Jonathan Drennan - Sr. Consultant - Charity Dynamics
Convio Speakers: April Davis - Consultant, Web Development Services
Level: Advanced

Now that you know the basics, learn about some of the more advanced features available in TeamRaiser that can help you build a compelling website and get more participants fundraising!

Using Google Analytics to Drive Results
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am
Guest Speakers: Brett Meyer, Communications and Web Manager, NTEN
Convio Speakers: Dimitri Lundquist - Information Architect 
Level: Advanced

If you’ve been using Google Analytics for a while, you’re probably pretty comfortable with basic reporting and understanding what those reports mean. This session will focus on how to take your analytics to the next level by applying the information to drive meaningful results.  Join NTEN's Communications Manager Brett Meyer for a live demonstration on how to use Google Analytics to understand the performance of your website in terms of measuring progress toward your organizational goals – and how to set these website-related goals in the first place. You'll leave the session with tips and tricks you can use right away, and see first-hand how these principles were applied to NTEN to successfully increase site traffic and inform their site redesign. Learning outcomes include:

  1. Understand how to apply Analytics data in context to answer specific questions and meet specific goals
  2. Use web analytics to understand the performance of your websites, how to measure progress toward organizational goals, and turn your accumulated data into actual site improvements

Creative Strategies in Animal Welfare
Time: 
8:30 - 9:45 am
Guest Speakers: Michael Robbins - Director of Marketing & Communications – Michigan Humane Society
Convio Speakers: Kent Gilliam - Interactive Consultant; Laura Brown - Sr. Account Manager
Level: Global

We will present information and examples of traditional and non-traditional uses of online tools and functions that have generated great results for other animal welfare organizations. Come learn about unique uses of the Convio tool, how to add value to your website, drive site traffic, increase donations and site registrations, and create expanded fundraising opportunities.  The goal is for you to learn a new campaign idea that you can take home to your shelter and immediately implement and create results.

The New TeamRaiser Participant Center 2.0 (we put the "fun" back in Fundraising)
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am or 2:00 - 3:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Heather Lawrence - Manager - Affiliate Race for the Cure, Susan G. Komen; Derek Martin - Associate Director of Donor Services -San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Convio Speakers: Chris Simoes - Software Development Manager, Engineering
Level: Essentials

Curious about the new Participant Center 2.0?  Looking to make it easier for your constituents to raise money for you?  Learn how the new Participant Center 2.0 was completely redesigned from the ground up to remove distractions and allow the user to focus on what matters, reaching their fundraising goals.  We will detail all of the usability improvements and show off the new features that make the new Participant Center 2.0 the best grassroots fundraising tool on the Internet.  Plus we will have 2 clients who have already moved their events to the new Participant Center 2.0 to answer your questions and explain why they chose to immediately upgrade their events.

Hot Topics in Email Deliverability: Strengthen Your Organization’s Email Reputation and Get Excellent Inbox Delivery
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Convio Speakers: Bill Pease -Chief Scientist, TJ Spinks - Operations Analyst 
Level: Essentials

This session will provide an overview of Convio’s email delivery assurance program. Learn how to investigate and reduce spam complaints and improve your email reputation.  We’ll cover all the important parameters that influence your email deliverability – list acquisition methods, audience segmentation, and messaging frequency.  Make sure your email program reflects best practices.

Fundraising and the Emerging Science of Behavioral Economics
Time:
10:00-11:30 am 
Guest Speakers: Mark Rovner - Founder and Principal - Sea Change Strategies;
Sue Citro - Senior Manager, Digital Membership - Nature Conservancy;
Alia McKee - Principal - International Rescue Committee
Convio Speakers: Matthew Mielcarek - Principal Consultant
Level: Global

 
The past few years have seen a revolution in our understanding of how people make decisions, including decisions about charitable giving. Books like “Predictable Irrationality” and “Nudge” reflect a radical new insight into human behavior, one that turns many of our cherished assumptions on their heads. This session will review recent research and focus on takeaway lessons for fundraising and public engagement.
Issues we will cover include:

  • Emotional vs. intellectual messages
  • The power of imagery
  • Getting people to take the first step
  • Conventional practices we would do well to avoid

Meet the New and Advanced WYSIWYG
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Convio Speakers: Myra Friel - Senior Product Manager; Noah Cooper - Senior Consultant, Technical Design Services; Jeff Kingsland - Senior Client Support Analyst; Matt Rupe - Senior Engineer
Level: Global

All levels are invited to take a tour of the new and improved Convio HTML WYSIWYG Editor in this session.  This is a great chance to become familiar with the new WYSIWYG and learn more about the benefits of this upgrade.  In this session you will hear tips and highlights from the Convio experts who have been working directly with clients. You will find your day-to-day Convio tasks like creating Email content and building PageBuilder pages easier with the new WYSIWYG.   Please note that this the WYSIWYG for the Convio Online Marketing tool and does not include the Content Management System (CMS).

Raise 4X
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Guest Speaker: Danielle Johnson Vermenton - Director of Individual Giving - Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta
Convio Speakers: Rachael Ahrens - Sr. Interactive Specialist; Jennifer Darrouzet - Solutions Marketing Manager
Level: Global

Did you know that if you compare a multi-part email campaign series to a single email appeal, you’ll see an average of four times the fundraising? Attend this session to hear the story of such a campaign from concept to results, then roll up your sleeves to plan out your next fundraising campaign under the guidance of the experts.  You will head home with paper mock-ups of the email messages, donation forms, and webpages you’ll need to launch your campaign, plus our planning worksheets, recommended campaign calendars, best-practice email templates, and all the campaign samples covered. 

Crowd Sourcing your Way to the top of the Video Heap
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Guest Speakers: David Neff - Director of Web, Film and Interactive - American Cancer Society; Michael Hoffman - CEO - See3 Communications;
Ramya Raghavan - Nonprofits & Activism Manager - YouTube
Convio Speakers: Jordan Viator - Interactive Communications Manager
Level: Global

This session will cover Using videos to tell stories and drive support can be an effective strategy for nonprofit organizations. In this session we’ll discuss using constituent-generated videos to reach your audience on YouTube and your web site, walk through the great examples of using video on Convio-powered pages and share practical tips on integrating video strategically and technically.

Making Mobile Matter: Message, Motivate and Monetize!
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Brian Rubenstein - Associate Director - American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; Matt Wilson - Director of Partnerships - Mobile Commons 
Convio Speakers: Kevin Shin - Sr. Account Manager
Level: Advanced

 

Mobile technology continues to develop and continues to be an accessible tool for those who want to build lists, inform constituents, inspire action, and raise funds. We'll discuss several successful campaigns for advocacy, fundraising, and member communications and share what works and how to make it work for you.

 

The First 30 Days
Time:
10:15 - 11:30 am
Guest Speakers: Jaime-Alexis Fowler - Online and New Media Editor - Pathfinder International
Convio Speakers: Kenan Pollack - Senior Interactive Consultant
Level: Essentials

Congratulations! You’ve captured a prospect’s email. Uh, what now? After you’ve spent the time and energy (and money) bringing in new names, how do you now ensure your prospects have a positive experience; they not only stay engaged, but they tell their peers to do so as well? This session will cover essentials around those critical first 30 days after a prospect joins your list and the relationship begins including:

  • Getting even the small details right (Hint: When's the last time YOU walked in your prospect's shoes online?)
  • Building and launching a multi-part welcome series using relationship pathways
  • Promoting viral and peer-to-peer tools
  • Cultivating the relationship and delivering the first ask 

Constituent-Generated Content: Tales from Sierra Club's Communities
Time:
12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Jim Bradbury - Online Communications Manager - The Sierra Club; Adrian Cotter - Senior Webmaster - The Sierra Club; Aaron Biddar - Vice President of Sales and Marketing - ThePort
Convio Speakers: Ed Melendez - Lead Account Manager
Level: Global

You’ll learn how The Sierra Club used Convio’s Constituent 360 and ThePort Network’s social networking technologies to create social-media-enabled sites for three  different audiences. During this session, we will focus on one of Sierra Club's social-media sites, Climate Crossroads, to better understand how they are using social-media tools to create campaigns, engage constituents, and collaborate with allies. Learn how the Sierra Club overcame the technical challenge of connecting multiple communities with its house list, how they are transforming "lists" into communities, and what they see on the horizon.

Reach 4X
Time: 12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speaker: Jenny Lee - Creative Director - Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Convio Speakers: Rachael Ahrens - Sr. Interactive Specialist; Jennifer Darrouzet - Solutions Marketing Manager
Level: Global

Because nonprofits earn, on average, $13.96 in online revenue per email address, per year, you know you should be planning out structured campaigns whose sole objective is list growth.  Attend this session to hear the story of such a campaign from concept to results, then roll up your sleeves to plan out your next list growth campaign under the guidance of the experts.  You will head home with paper mock-ups of the email messages and webpages you’ll need to launch your campaign, plus our planning worksheets, recommended campaign calendars, best-practice email templates, and all the campaign samples covered.

Listen up! Use Your Website to Steer Your Content and Build Better Relationships
Time:
12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Susan Neumann - Director of Engagement, Membership Department - National Trust for Historic Preservation;
Abby Sandlin - Senior Consultant - Charity Dynamics
Convio Speakers: Brandy Reppy - Information Architect 
Level: Advanced

Your website is one of many ways that your organization talks to its members. Like any good conversationalist, the website should not only speak to your visitors, but also listen to what they are saying. In this session we’ll discuss strategies on how to collect visitor information, and how to use that information when you’re developing your site’s content to engage your audience.  

Should You 'Pay to Play'? Innovative Ways to Build Your Supporter Base
Time:
12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Michael Johnston - President - HJC; Liz Murphy - President - RedEngine Digital; Michael Ward - Sr. Vice President - M+R Strategic Services
Convio Speakers: Molly Brooksbank - Lead Consultant
Level: Advanced

Psst! Hey buddy, want to buy a lead? At first blush, paying for emails may seem suspect at best, particularly when free, or organic, options abound online and the word “spam” is never far away. But with rising direct mail acquisition costs, it’s more and more important to find online alternatives to build your file.  True, organic name/donor acquisition is always most economic, but how do you grow volumes?  And when do paid, cost-per-lead services make sense? This session will cover various paid and organic list-building techniques and will touch on the financials associated with prospect-to-donor conversion including:

  • Email offers and benefits to grow organic conversion
  • Using direct mail for integrated marketing conversion
  • Effective integration of appended names 
  • Social networking and peer-to-peer based outreach and list growth
  • Paid services like e-Miles, Pontiflex and Care2

Our Flexible Friends: Using Convio S Tags and Conditional Content to Boost Your Fundraising Strategy
Time:
12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Elizabeth Nielsen - Online Fundraising Manager - Feeding America;
Brenda Miele - Director of IT Projects - Event360
Convio Speakers: Ken Cantu - Lead Implementation Specialist, Program Management Services; Taylor Shanklin - Implementation Specialist
Level: Essentials

Your web sites look great, but do your fundraising strategies and techniques take full advantage of what is possible with some of the most versatile Convio tools and a little creativity? We’ll show you how to improve upon the standard marketing techniques in unique and creative ways using standard Convio functionality such as S Tags and Conditional Content.

New Frontiers in Data Integration: Leveraging Industry-Standard Tools with Convio's Open Initiative
Time:
12:30 - 1:45 pm
Guest Speakers: Steve Birnbaum - Chief Operating Officer - Jacobson Consulting Applications;
Keith Heller - Principal - Heller Consulting
Convio Speakers: Chris Ojeda - Lead Integration Consultant
Level: Advanced

Convio’s Open Initiative has created exciting opportunities for integrating client data with Convio Online Marketing.  New Web Services APIs empower clients to use industry-standard tools to perform data synchronization.  Come learn how Convio consultants and partners plan to make use of these new capabilities to build new integrations and customize existing ones, including the Convio Connector for RE. Attendees will learn: how the development of Web Services APIs focused on Data Integration has opened up new possibilities for synchronizing client data with Convio, how Convio will be leveraging Pervasive Software’s Data Integrator tool to take advantage of the new Web Services capabilities to build integrations and from Convio integration partners about their plans to offer custom client integrations that leverage Web Services APIs.

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit.

The Healthy Housefile: Building and Cultivating Your List
Time:
2:00 - 3:15 pm
Guest Speaker: Alicia Searfoss - Internet Marketing Specialist - National Relief Charities
Convio Speakers: Patrick Hansen - Principal Consultant  
Level: Essentials                                           

Is your housefile in good health?  This session covers the basics of effective email housefile building and nurturing, including:  stewardship; viral offers; simple and effective welcome messages; segmentation planning, and constituent profiling. Attendees will learn: the baseline metrics for measuring housefile health, 2-3 tactics and related campaign concepts for building your housefile and 2-3 tactics and related activities for profiling/cultivating your housefile.

*Attendees who complete this session will receive 1.25 points of CFRE credit.

Going Beyond the Donate Button
Time:
2:00 - 3:15 pm
Guest Speakers: Todd Turner - Director of Web Ministries - Insights for Living; Michael Cervino - Vice President - Beaconfire Consulting; Nick Allen - Chief Strategy Officer - DonorDigital
Convio Speakers: Vinay Bhagat - Founder & CSO; Kate Millea - Interactive Consultant
Level: Advanced

Extend the effectiveness of your online fundraising appeals by looking at factors beyond the appeals themselves. Dive into topics including: 

  • Optimizing landing pages and donation forms
  • Optimizing your recurring giving program
  • Customized Ask Strings
  • Videos & Multi Media that motivate giving

Import/Export: How to Effectively Move and Manage your Data
Time:
2:00 - 3:15 pm
Convio Speakers: Cynthia Balusek - Manager, Client Support; John Miller - Client Support Anaylst 
Level: Essentials

In this session learn how to use Convio’s tools, create processes and follow best practices for moving data in and out of the Convio system.  This will include:

  • Overviews of the standard constituent import
  • Interest and group assignment
  • Standard constituent download
  • Transaction information download
  • Custom constituent import

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Sessions | Convio Summit 2009